The home they were searching for
by lyviel
Summary: Meridian. Humanity had finally found the home it had been searching for. Harry Carlyle thought he knew what to expect now that things were settling in, but then he met Richard Galen. (Sadly Harry isn't in the char list, but this'll eventually be OC/Harry/Reyes fluff)
1. Chapter 1

Looking around at his current predicament, Rich couldn't help but reflect that he really should have seen this all coming. He had never been a lucky person. Everything that could go wrong always seemed to go wrong, sometimes in catastrophic ways he hadn't even thought possible. Just looking back since his arrival in Andromeda provided countless examples.

Corrupted homeworlds, missing arks and Pathfinders, rebellion, and finally the shitshow that was Kadara. That one was his own fault, though. He could have stayed safely on the Nexus, but his own stubbornness and irritation with how the higher-ups were handling things had led to him voluntarily choosing exile. Although apparently the Nexus hadn't exactly been safe either.

When they heard about the attack on the Nexus, Rich of course volunteered with plenty of others to go lend a hand. He'd caught a ride with Reyes, joining the ground troops and hoping to lend his skills as a doctor. And now, here he was on some sort of hollow planet fighting for the fate of humanity. No big deal, right? Once again, though, this was his own damn fault. But then, what was he supposed to do, stay back on Kadara while all hell broke loose here? At least he wasn't a Pathfinder. Small blessings, and all that. He definitely didn't envy the responsibility and attention all on Ryder.

Out here under the artificial daylight, Rich only had to contend with debris raining down from exploding ships as well as all the kett shooting at him. He kept his head down, trying to drag wounded allies out of the line of fire so he could tend to them, occasionally even getting a shot off. He was much too old for this and the strain was already getting to him. There was a reason he'd settled down in his tiny little clinic.

Things can happen much too quickly on the battlefield. He really should have been paying closer attention. One second he was trying to make it from cover to cover to get to a fallen soldier. The next, he looked back and realized he was too far away from the front lines of the fighting. He was getting closed in and there was no way he'd be able to get back. He bandaged up his patient as best he could and settled in, hoping he could hold his own until- well, he wasn't exactly sure what. Reinforcements were unlikely and things were looking pretty grim.

He surprised himself with how well he was able to hold his own, shooting any kett that approached. He guessed they were mostly uninterested in a single lone human when the real fighting was elsewhere. Unfortunately it didn't take long for one of those invisible creatures to materialize directly beside him. _Of course,_ he thought with a weary sigh.

He wasn't as young as he used to be. There was no chance of him getting out of the way in time. He was much too slow, the thing jumping on top of him and knocking him to the ground. Rich managed to get a shot off, the thing going limp half on top of him, but not until after it's claws raked across his chest, tearing apart his armor like it was nothing.

Lying on his back like this, feeling himself bleeding out, the sounds of the battlefield slowly faded away. High above, Rich could see the tessellated pattern of the shell of the planet through the blue of the sky. Strangely enough it brought to mind an old vid he and his sister had watched as a child and he couldn't help but smile at the memory. Perhaps it has been prophetic that the doctor had almost died in that. 'Almost.' Rich doubted he'd be as lucky.

"'For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky,'" he quoted, chuckling a little. He regretted that immediately as he fell into a coughing fit. He winced at the strain, wondering if reinforcements would come in time. Or if it would take them days to find his body. If they even won this battle. "Sorry, Reyes. I fucked up."


	2. Chapter 2

The battle was over, the kett had been defeated and humanity could now begin to make it's new home on Meridian, but it was far from over for those in the medbay. Wounded were being brought in almost constantly, keeping Harry Carlyle and the few members of his staff that weren't out in the field running themselves ragged trying to tend to them all.

Harry himself hadn't had a break in over 20 hours and it was looking like he probably wouldn't for another 10 at the very least. He tried to stifle a yawn as he approached his next patient, scanning through his chart on a datapad. Vidal, Reyes. He'd taken a nasty hit to the side but he seemed to be recovering well.

"You must be my doctor," the man said with a smile. He was sitting up and appeared cheerful enough which was a good sign.

"Nah, I'm the janitor," Harry replied. "I just like the coat."

"Oh good, then perhaps you can sneak me out of here," he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "The nurse seems rather insistent that I stay. As much as I appreciate the attention, I am a busy man."

"Why don't you stay here for just a bit longer?" Harry urged. "Give the medigel time to work it's magic. Besides, it's almost lunch time. Surely you've heard how great hospital food is."

"Ah, I see you're one of them after all. Fine, then, I'll stay. But only because you asked so nicely."

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked, examining the bandages.

"Oh, you know," Vidal said, raising his arm out of the way. "I could use some whiskey."

"I'll see if I can smuggle you some later," Harry said with a smile.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"Don't spread rumors, now," Harry said with a smile. Finished with the bandages, he pulled the datapad out and updated the chart quickly. "Well, the good news is, Mister Vidal, you seem to be healing up nicely. You'll be out of here in no time."

"Please," he said, glancing at Harry's name tag. "It's Harry, is it? Call me Reyes"

"And you can call me Doctor Carlyle," he replied with a smile. "I'll be back to check on you after dinner."

"Ouch. Very well then, Doctor. I'll just be here entertaining myself, I guess."

* * *

"Is this everyone, then?" Reyes asked Harry as soon as he returned, scanning the room.

"Are you looking for anyone in particular?" Harry asked, checking his bandages again as well as his vitals.

"Oh, you know how it is," he said vaguely.

"I wouldn't worry too much, this is far from everyone. There are a few makeshift medbays in the field, there's no way everyone would fit in here. Do you have a name? I could follow up, see what I can find out for you."

"Nah, I'm sure he'll turn up. He has a way of doing that. He isn't exactly one for crowds. Chances are he's already slunk off somewhere to wait out all this chaos."

That was the last time Harry saw him. He happened to come by for one last sweep before turning in around midnight and the bed was empty. As long as Reyes took it easy and changed the bandages regularly he should be fine in a few days so there was no reason to go searching for him to drag him back. Harry sighed and went to go lay down. He was too old for this.

* * *

The world kept fading in and out for Rich. He much prefered the latter since it didn't include all that agony and noise. Eventually, the pain at least evened out enough that he could think properly so he forced his eyes open, finding himself in one of those temporary medbays always set up near battlefields.

He couldn't remember all the details of what had happened, his mind still fuzzy, probably with painkillers, but at least being here meant humanity probably hadn't been wiped out just yet. Unless, of course, this was just hell. Quite possible given the noise of too many people crammed into too small a space making it incredibly claustrophobic. He was so tired, though, that despite it all, he found his eyes slipping closed again. The next time he woke, it was to someone shaking him gently.

"Here I am, running all over the planet looking for you and you're here taking a nap," Reyes said and as Rich got his eyes to focus he could see his face, looking tired but relieved, and Rich didn't think he'd seen anything so perfect. "You had me worried for a bit there. I can't believe you went and got yourself injured."

"Really? Because I kinda saw it coming. I am much too old for all this," Rich grumbled. "I'm lucky I didn't break a hip out there."

"Come on, old man, let's get you out of here."

"With pleasure. Hand me that needle and vial over there, will you? This is gonna hurt like hell and I think I'll need the extra painkillers." Rich could see the concern in his face, no doubt he hadn't realized just how injured he'd been. "Relax, it's fine. I'm a doctor, remember? I know what I'm doing."

"I didn't want to say anything, but your methods can be a bit on the extreme side. I can always come back and break you out later."

"Hell, no," Rich said quickly. "No way I'm spending my time wasting away in a hospital."

"The irony of that statement," Reyes said with a little laugh as he helped him sit up.

"Shut up," Rich said, but there was no irritation there.

"So, back to Kadara then?"

"Actually, I think I'd better stay on for a bit. Once I'm properly back on my feet, I think they could use a hand here more than anyone in Kadara."

"I thought you'd say that," Reyes said, chuckling.

"You better come visit me or there'll be hell to pay," Rich said, somehow still managing to sound threatening even as he leaned heavily into Reyes as they made their exit.

"Of course. I think I'll stay here for a bit too. Keema's managing just fine, I think she can do without me for a tad longer. And I think I'm due a vacation."

"You mean you want to hang around and make sure I actually rest up," Rich said.

"You got me."


	3. Chapter 3

Since arriving in Andromeda, Harry Carlyle was coming to realize that he'd missed out on a lot of things in life. He'd already known this to an extent, that's why he'd come here after all. He'd had a good job, a good life, and friends back in the Milky Way; but still he was missing so much. He'd reached the top, there was nowhere else to go, nothing else to discover, really, no way to make a difference or improve lives. And coming home to an empty apartment reminded him that perhaps he had done this all wrong.

The Initiative had been his chance to put his medical knowledge to good use, to help people for a change, but that was it. He was still an old man, feeling older every day, and he knew that the possibility of romance had long since passed him by. He thought he had accepted that, so why was he having so much trouble concentrating?

Since their sudden and permanent arrival on Meridian, their staff had been expanding and that included a certain doctor who had previously been residing on Kadara. Doctor Richard Galen had arrived with other volunteers to help in the fight against the Archon, but he had stayed on, wishing to assist as humanity settled here.

The man was surly and sarcastic but had the gentlest hands of all his colleagues, calming injured patients or waking sleepers smoothly with the ease of one truly experienced. It was intriguing how his tone never quite seemed to match his actions and it made Harry want to seek him out, to learn more. Truth be told, he couldn't help but like him. Today, however, Harry found his gaze lingering where it had no business being, catching on the corner of Galen's lips, on the curve of his neck, on-

Harry tore his eyes away. He couldn't be doing this. It wasn't like Galen would be interested anyway. He was young, had to still be in his thirties despite how often he grumbled about his back. He had a future ahead of him where Harry did not and he couldn't jeopardize that. Besides, Harry was too old to have a crush, it was absurd. He focused on his datapad, determined not to be distracted again.

* * *

The Vortex. Harry didn't exactly come here often but tonight he could really use a drink. It was too loud and stuffy here and he was planning on grabbing a bottle and heading back to his room to enjoy it when he spotted Galen sitting alone. Without even really making a conscious decision, he found himself walking over and sliding into the booth across from him.

"I thought the point of coming to a bar was to mingle," Harry said and Galen raised an eyebrow at him. Unfortunately it was sort of difficult to tell if his presence was unwelcome or not. "There's some of our coworkers across the room, you know. I'm sure you could join them."

"Eh, they're too loud," Galen said dismissively as he took a drink.

"Too loud? And here I thought I was supposed to be the old man."

"Oh, don't worry, you are," Galen said with a small smile. "But so am I."

"You're not old until you hit forty at the very least," Harry said with a chuckle.

"My old bones say otherwise. What about you, are you here to join them?" Galen nodded towards their coworkers.

"Nah, I don't want to dampen their spirits. No one wants the old guy around to ruin the fun."

"And yet you're sitting here, drinking with me," Galen pointed out, eyebrow raised. He was hiding a small smile behind his glass though at least.

"Honestly, you looked so grim I didn't think I could make things worse even if I tried."

"I'll have you know that grim is my specialty and I certainly don't need any help. I'll thank you not to spread any rumors that say otherwise."

"Oh, I"m so sorry, I had no idea it was intentional."

"Then I'm doing this all wrong."

It was pleasant, their banter coming easily. Talking to Galen was probably the most fun he had had in years. After Alex's death and Lexi accompanying the Pathfinder on the Tempest, Harry didn't have too many friends. Sure, he was social enough, but this felt different somehow.

"If you aren't fond of loud, why are you even here?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't have any in my quarters," Galen said, holding up his glass. "You?"

"Same," then, in a moment of bravery, he added, "Let's get out of here. Maybe we can hang out by the docking by and get a little peace and quiet. I'll even share this bottle with you."

"Yeah, sure, why not."

Galen was a good man, easy to talk to. Harry had wanted the drink to relax, but honestly just talking with him had already done wonders. Harry reminded himself that this was not a date, that they were simply two colleagues sharing a drink. There was no harm in friendship, though, right? It would be more than enough if they could just sit and talk and enjoy each other's company. Harry couldn't ask for more.


End file.
